Dou Wenju listened to Xu Dengming’s explanation, a faint sneer appearing on his face, clearly disapproving of her viewpoint.
Xu Dengming understood the reason for his disapproval—In a world where nothing scientific could be guaranteed, simply disallowing violent acts did not mean the elevator was free of other dangers.
However, perhaps due to Dou Wenju’s arrogance, which made him unwilling to speak up and correct her, or perhaps because he felt there was no harm in letting others stay calm due to hopeful news, he didn’t express his thoughts too directly.
Because of what had been said, Zhang Zhiqun and the others had begun to trust Xu Dengming, if only slightly, and now asked, “There’s only half the countdown left. What should we do now?”
Xu Dengming thought for a moment before answering, “Looking at the rules for the upcoming phases, passengers will eventually have to leave the elevator. We can start by determining which floor our destination is on.”
Lin Yunhui asked, “How do we figure out the destination? Are there any hints?”
The black sign certainly didn’t provide any clues about which floor each passenger’s destination was on, but the nearby floor buttons did offer some explanations.
According to the labels, it was clear that B1 and B2 were parking levels, while the other floors were labeled as follows:
“1st Floor: Jewelry, Watches, and International Luxury Goods”, “2nd Floor: Trendy Clothing”, “3rd Floor: Supermarket, Home Goods, Smart Electronics”, “4th Floor: Family Recreation, Anime Park, Children’s Plaza”, “5th Floor: Desserts, Coffee, Fashionable Bars”, “6th Floor: Chinese Cuisine”, “7th Floor: Western Dining”, “8th Floor: Movie Heaven”.
Some floor labels were smudged, as though covered by the bodies of black insects.
Xu Dengming glanced at the floor buttons, then said, “Actually, according to standard shopping logic, the passengers should already know which floor they’re headed to.”
Ji Zizai blinked her cat-like eyes but didn’t speak.
The others began whispering amongst themselves.
Zhao Yilang, still confused by Xu Dengming’s point, rebutted, “If it were Jin Cai Mall, I’d obviously know which floor I’m going to, but this is clearly not the same place!”
Xu Dengming looked at him and made a gesture to lower his voice.
Seeing this, Zhao Yilang suddenly realized his voice had been too loud.
Elevator Riding Rules – Article 2: Do not speak loudly.
Zhao Yilang’s face twitched involuntarily.
“I didn’t—I was just… and that wasn’t really shouting, right?”
He stammered as he tried to explain himself, glancing around in an attempt to gain others’ approval.
Dou Wenju scoffed.
“You already shouted. It’s too late to regret now.”
Xu Dengming glanced at him.
“Don’t rush. The countdown isn’t over yet. The scenario hasn’t necessarily started—don’t you feel anything else is off?”
Zhao Yilang quickly shook his head.
“No, not at all!”
His tone was urgent, though he deliberately lowered his voice, almost whispering.
Xu Dengming’s gaze lingered on him for a moment, then she smiled faintly.
“Well, that’s good.”
While speaking, Xu Dengming had secretly activated her Eye of Observation.
Through her eyes, the environment around them appeared unusually dim.
The elevator still carried a thick, greyish-black mist, and everyone stood there obliviously within the mist.
The ominous mist wandered through the air, drifting over the passengers’ bodies.
Just moments ago, when Zhao Yilang had been agitated, he seemed to become a vortex, and the mist surrounding him accelerated, enveloping him entirely.
However, as Zhao Yilang calmed down, the mist around him gradually lightened.
Xu Dengming also noticed that the mist appeared to try to condense into longer, more readable lines, but they would always scatter at the last moment.
She suspected this was due to her still-unrefined skill.
While observing Zhao Yilang, Xu Dengming did not forget to keep an eye on the others in the elevator.
Compared to Zhao Yilang, whose panic was obvious, Dou Wenju and Ji Zizai remained notably calm.
However, the moment Xu Dengming’s gaze landed on Dou Wenju, she suddenly closed her eyes, as though startled by something.
Standing nearby, Lin Yunhui noticed that the one who had introduced herself as Xu Ming, lowered her head and rubbed her eyes.
Rubbing one’s eyes wasn’t unusual, but after doing so, Xu Ming’s eyes appeared slightly red, as though she had been too rough and hadn’t been careful with her delicate mucous membranes.
Actually, when Xu Dengming had been observing Dou Wenju, she hadn’t seen anything specific, but the act of observing him had made her feel uncomfortable, forcing her skill to abruptly stop.
She recalled the system’s warning.
Currently, the Eye of Observation’s level was too low, and it was prone to interference from external factors.
There was something unusual about Dou Wenju, which likely affected Xu Dengming’s ability, but she couldn’t yet determine if this anomaly came from him personally or from some object he was carrying.
The countdown inside the elevator showed 1 minute and 46 seconds remaining.
After reaching the conclusion that “passengers should know their destination floor,” Xu Dengming reached into her pocket and opened her backpack, rummaging through it until she pulled out two previously unseen promotional flyers.
One was for a Western restaurant, and the other was for a dessert shop.
Ji Zizai seemed to have noticed something and curiously asked, “What are you looking for?”
Xu Dengming replied, “I wanted to check if anything unusual had appeared on me.”
Then she held up the two flyers, saying, “I’m sure these are the only items I have that are not mine. They must belong to the elevator passengers.”
With Xu Dengming’s prompt, everyone’s eyes lit up.
Now that they knew the clues were on them, the passengers quickly began to check their belongings.
For instance, Dou Wenju immediately emptied all his pockets.
Dou Wenju commented, “I only brought my phone and wallet, but now I have two more flyers.”
He was probably the quickest to notice something was wrong with his pockets.
After all, others might wonder if they’d just forgotten they’d put the flyers in there themselves, while everything Dou Wenju carried, regardless of category, seemed to radiate an “I’m expensive” glow typical of a rich second-generation heir.
Lin Yunhui followed suit and said, “Same here.”
He also found an extra flyer on herself.
The two ordinary and common advertisement flyers were tightly held in the hands of the passengers, as if they were gripping the last thread of hope to escape the scenario.
Zhao Yilang’s eyes gleamed with excitement.
“So, these are the clues the game has provided for us! Once we confirm the target floor, we can leave the elevator!”
Upon hearing Zhao Yilang’s words, Dou Wenju once again displayed a mocking smile.
“The clues are indeed clues, but do you really think you can figure out the correct floor from this? Those two flyers of yours aren’t even from the same floor.”
He was right.
In Zhao Yilang’s hands, one flyer was from a furniture store, and the other from a Chinese restaurant, located on the third and sixth floors, respectively.
Zhao Yilang’s expression froze, and then he raised his eyes, a hint of barely concealed malice in them, as if his plan was about to fail, and it was all Dou Wenju’s fault for speaking up.
However, not every passenger was that unlucky.
Take Dou Wenju, for instance.
Though the two flyers he held were from two different bars, in the current scenario, the building only had one floor that provided alcoholic drinks: the fifth floor.
Dou Wenju casually glanced at Zhao Yilang, then slowly placed the flyers back into his pocket, completely unaffected by the faint hostility in Zhao Yilang’s eyes.
This was, of course, because the elevator rules prohibited violent behavior, and with only half a minute left before the game officially started, Zhao Yilang had no time to forcibly swap the flyers and change their floors.
Just then, Lin Yunhui suddenly made a sound of surprise.
“Hmm? Why do you have three flyers?”
Xu Dengming raised a third piece of paper from her pocket and answered, “This isn’t a flyer, it’s a coupon from the Jin Cai Mall. I brought it with me.”
Lin Yunhui carefully examined it and saw the words “Jin Cai” written on it.
She nodded and let out a relieved sigh.
“I see.”
After explaining, Xu Dengming looked thoughtfully at the coupon in his hand.
Just when the others were about to ask her what she was thinking, they heard Xu Dengming’s voice echoing from the dim elevator.
“You guys think… can a coupon be used in different malls?”
Ji Zizai seemed to want to laugh.
“It probably can’t. While the current situation can’t be explained by common sense, and there are many rules that don’t align with normal logic, it’s unlikely that the scope of ordinary items will be distorted.”
Zhao Yilang and the others exchanged glances:
“These two are having a rather serious conversation.”
“…3, 2, 1.”
The countdown reached zero, and it felt as though some invisible barrier within the elevator was suddenly shattered.
A cold and eerie aura spread rapidly in the air, and Xu Dengming heard the chilling sound of machinery whirring to life.
The waiting period ended, and the game awakened, now eyeing the passengers in the elevator with malicious intent.
Zhao Yilang shuddered for no reason.
Lin Yunhui’s face showed panic, and even the normally arrogant Dou Wenju seemed a bit more cautious.
The elevator, now awakened, was ready to start.
According to Rule 3, the passengers needed to press the floor button within ten seconds.
There was no time to think, no time to hesitate.
Before anyone else could speak, Ji Zizai took two steps forward and decisively pressed the “8” button.
Her speed was even faster than Xu Dengming’s.
Lin Yunhui’s eyes widened.
“You… you’ve already decided on your floor?”
She stared at Ji Zizai, her eyes filled with unmasked impatience, along with a trace of envy and longing.
Ji Zizai shook her head.
“No, I pressed the eighth floor because it’s the highest floor.”
She wasn’t sure where to go, but she knew that reaching the highest floor would take more time than reaching other floors, which meant the passengers would have more time to plan their next move.
The lights in the elevator were still dimly on as the cabin slowly ascended, and the floor numbers changed continuously.
“B2, B1, 1, 2, 3, 4…”
The elevator kept rising, and the passengers felt their bodies growing heavier.
This heaviness made it hard to focus, and it felt as if their hearts were being squeezed, making breathing more difficult than usual.
Xu Dengming leaned against the elevator wall, staring at the buttons next to the floor indicator.
Tftc!